The one reason I stopped paying attention to NASCAR. NHRA F'ed up bigtime... gotta see if I can get a refund on my membership
now to read through the whole tread
Any body remember when Indy paid double points?
You all say it will chase the "little guys" away and teams outside the top 8. Why? Under the current points format, with around 4 races left anyone outside the top 5 for that matter should pack it up and quit too then because they don't have a shot at the title either.
I feel teams won't just up and quit when they are not part of the final 8 with the new rules. They come to the races to win that particular race not secure a spot in the final 8 if they know they don't have a realistic shot at it, especially the teams that know deep down they can't compete with the big boys. They are there to race because either someone pays them too or they truly love the sport and could care less where they finish in the points.
As an example, Tim Wilkerson is out of the top 10 in points yet comes to every race. He could just as well pack it in after Indy because he is not going to win the championship this year. He comes out to win races and enjoy doing what he does. The new points structure isn't going to change his views or his race schedule, IMHO!
Don't get me wrong, I think it is stupid to penalize a team that outperforms everyone all year, but then with a handful of races left the NHRA is going to allow the others in the back of the pack to catch up.
As long as you've got a shot at making the top Ten, it's worth Racing, or setting up for next year, but with no chance of finishing in the Big Money, there are other places to race...
Personally I think it will be awesome.............
Think about it, every year there are at least 2 classes that are a one horse race, that really gets boring to watch at the end of the year knowing that no one can catch them..........
Think about it, when was the last time you've seen 8 cars in contention in any class with only 6 races left?
Think about it, how cool was it to watch the funny car class go down to the final Sunday of the season to decide the Champion..............
Think about it, you will now have 4 classes going down to the final Sunday of the season to decide 4 Champions.............
Think about it, 2 years ago when Skuza and Corradi went on a tear, winning more rounds in the last 6 races of the season than any other team, they could have won a Championship.............
Personally I think it will be awesome.............
Think about it, every year there are at least 2 classes that are a one horse race, that really gets boring to watch at the end of the year knowing that no one can catch them..........
Think about it, when was the last time you've seen 8 cars in contention in any class with only 6 races left?
Think about it, how cool was it to watch the funny car class go down to the final Sunday of the season to decide the Champion..............
Think about it, you will now have 4 classes going down to the final Sunday of the season to decide 4 Champions.............
Think about it, 2 years ago when Skuza and Corradi went on a tear, winning more rounds in the last 6 races of the season than any other team, they could have won a Championship.............
Just think of the play the changing of the points system will get!
The bottom line is that the championships in the current format are normally (NOT ALWAYS) determined well before the end of the season (i.e. Greg Anderson in the past few years). How interesting is Pro Stock for the Vegas & Pomona fans with nothing on the line. Most years Force had FC locked up pretty early, and Top Fuel rarely has more than two cars battling with a realistic chance. Who cares if it's somewhat a copy of Nascar. As of this moment (with 6 races left) 4 Top Fuelers have a chance (with 1 of the 4 fading fast), 4 FC (with 2 more than 8 rounds behind), and 3 PS cars (with 1 about 8 rounds back). The new format in my mind adds alot of importance to the WHOLE schedule. John Asher makes some good points, but in NHRA racing you will get coverage if you go rounds (NO MATTER where you are in the points), and sponsors will be satisfied. Look at the top 8 right now in the 4 pro classes. They are ALL top quality cars capable of getting hot, and winning the title. I don't agree with NHRA brass too often, but at least they are trying something.
So in this sense of thinking, last year the Indy Colts should have been the Superbowl Champions, no way in hell the Pittsburg Steelers deserved to be, even though they brought their game when it counted!Think about it, Tony Shoe could win the first 17 races of the year and then have a mechanical bug happen to the car and lose in the first round the rest of the races and lose the championship. Or hell, even if he just went semi's the whole rest of the year but so and so 8th in pts actually wins 2 or 3 races and earns more pts over 6,7 races. Just think, then we would have a "champion" who didnt deserve it. Yeah thats awesome!.............................
Could this idea produce results similar to the cancellation of Pro Stock Trucks?
Mr. Knoll may shortly purchase 25% of IHRA's stock and, if it's true that "You can't fix Stupid" (a t-shirt we are now seriously considering sending to print) we may finally see the downfall of Wally's work.
A crystal ball looking 10 years out could easily show that an organization owned and operated by racer/businessmen such as IHRA could out grow one run by Compton-types with decisions like the new points deal being sprung on the organization like the Pro Truck cancellation. Could this be worse?
And that right there sums it up. There are not nearly enough die hard drag race fans to allow for NHRA to grow at a rate that would allow them to get the TV contract needed to draw bigger $$$ from sponsors and allow for $1,000,000 purses. Having an even that is exciting to watch will draw more casual fans, which is the ultimate goal. Die hards will watch no matter what, it's the casual fans that will bring the big score if their attention can be captured.(I have no doubt it will be more exciting to watch, but I still think it sucks)
Doc, this is the typical response on the board, one through the eye's of the racer. Very few opinions on this board will come from the eyes of the fans. As stated earlier, all of NHRA's decisions are about money and that's it.That is 100% true. NHRA has one main client, Drag Racing Fans, not the racers. From a fan's point of view, Pro Stock Trucks were boring, it was a great decision to cut them, not in the manner that they went about it, but cutting them was the right decision.Could this idea produce results similar to the cancellation of Pro Stock Trucks?
Mr. Knoll may shortly purchase 25% of IHRA's stock and, if it's true that "You can't fix Stupid" (a t-shirt we are now seriously considering sending to print) we may finally see the downfall of Wally's work.
A crystal ball looking 10 years out could easily show that an organization owned and operated by racer/businessmen such as IHRA could out grow one run by Compton-types with decisions like the new points deal being sprung on the organization like the Pro Truck cancellation. Could this be worse?